Rhino asked the question: “Why was the Tampa Two invented if it is a failure against good quarterbacks?”

Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith “invented the “Tampa Two” when they were head coach and defensive coordinator in Tampa. At the time the Bucs had a team tailored to play this scheme. In short, their PERSONNEL demanded it. They had the rush and they had the linebackers. What they lacked were true cover corners who could go in man coverage without a Safety for help.

The Bucs never went super under Dungy but the scheme was a surprise to O.C.’s around the league for a while.

Change is so important but short lived. Dungy was fired and went on to Indy. Lovie got the Chicago job. Both still used the cover two but it was Payton Manning who turned Indy and Lovie saved his job by getting Peppers and going to the N.F.C. championship.

Fewell began his career under Coughlin. It was Spags and pressure that won, not the cover two. The cover two is effective only when used as a surprise in today’s NFL.

A good q-back will eat their lunch. The Giants were NOT built to run Cover two. Fewell was in Buffalo when the Giants were drafting press CBs and weak LBers.

Sect122 on the Cover 2: “It only works if you have the EXACT personnel to pull it off, and even then I am not a fan. By exact personnel I mean, a HOFer at the 3 technique (Warren Sapp), a HOFer undersized quick MLB who is possibly the best ever at dropping into coverage (Brooks), a borderline HOF cover corner (Ronde) and a borderline HOF safety who can play down hill and fill (Lynch), or if you have Peyton Manning and your playing Rex Grossman.”

In summary- a good coach designs schemes that fit the personnel. The Giants defense got beat when it counted most because the schemes did not put the players in a position to leverage their skills.